Pipe cleaner



Dec. 8, 1942. H. E. RILEY J 2,304,281

PIPE CLEANER Filed Jan. 27, 1940 I INVENT R I flererjfiif lgy f ORNEYPatented Dec. 8, 1942 rrrn CLEANER"; Herbert E. Riley, New Y. I

Application January 27, 1940, Serial. No.J- 315,93 8

3 Claims. (01. 131+245) V This invention is an improvement in cleanersespecially for pipe stems, such as set forth in myap'plieation S. N.270,045-fi1ed April 26, 1939, and this application is a continuation inpart of said former application.

A number of forms of pipe cleaners are on the market, but althoughattractive in appearance they are not effective to remove dried orheavily gummed sludge. Pipe smoking values are completely distorted bythe contamination of the residual matter of smoke tobacco. The stem andshank of the pipe become clogged with tar, nicotine, and the syntheticflavorings added to tobacco. The true value of both smoked tobacco andpipe are distorted by this combination.

This cleaner definitely removes the distorting factor and is the firstcombination of abrasive and wiping that actually forces out the residualmass.

The main object of this invention is to provide a more effective cleanerwhich can be made economically.

In its preferred form the device has a stiff but flexible twisted wirecore intertwined with a number of twisted absorbent textile threads andflat metallic cutting ribbon-like strands wound around a central wireand embraced by the other Wire which is twisted around the central wire.All or a part of the device may be flattened by impact or by passingbetween rollers so as to make n the cleaner thinner in one direction andwider in the other to enable it to be more effectively applied in theflattened stem of a pipe. The cleaner material can be made in longlengths, encased in Cellophane or like material and cut up in desiredlengths. The absorbent material may be impregnated with cleaning fluidor with substances tending to add flavor or to render the pipe aseptic.

To make the device it has been found convenient to simultaneously wind anumber of absorbent threads and one 'or more metallic ribbons about amandrel and allow the coils to collect on a core-wire which is movinglongitudinally. A second core wire is then drawn along and twisted withthe first core wire and its absorbent and cutting strands so as to lockthe threads and metallic ribbon securely between the wires. The resultis a stiff but resilient or flexible core with the absorbent and cuttingelements bound r together, and extending generally parallel with thelength of the cleaner but twisted and looped somewhat in and out betweenthe core wires, the twists of the stiff wires occurring much more oftenthan the turns of the fiber and metallic ribbons. One arrangementllSBS'lZWfi groups of three absorbent threads and one metallicribbon anda third group of three absorbent threads, all wound simultaneouslyaroundthe first core wire and then bound together by twisting thesecond corewire around the first with its accumulated strands. An additional fiberor textile filament can be wound with the second or binding core wire soas to substantially conceal the wire and add to the absorbent and wipingcapacity of the cleaner. 7

Such a device can be inserted into a pipe stem or the like and pushedand drawn back and forth and rotated so as to loosen and remove all theaccumulations even when quite hard. The textile fibers absorb themoisture and wipe off the gummy substances which have been loosened bythe cutting ribbons. To remove gummy mass in the heel of a pipe thecleaner may be looped in a U-shape and the combination of the stiffcore, metallic abrasive and cotton scrapes and wipes out theobjectionable matter in the pipe bowl.

As the mouthpiece of a pipe will frequently be found to have a flatpassage it is desirable to flatten the clean-er or a part of it toexpedite the work. This can be readily done by the manufacturer or theuser since the metallic ribbons are readily deformed and will hold theirflattened shape and hold the absorbent fibers as well.

Fig. 1 is a side view ofa pipe cleaner embodying one form of myinvention, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 2 is a side view showing steps in the manufacture of one form ofthe device.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the device on a much enlarged scale.

Fig. 4-. is a cross-sectional view of a flattened cleaner section.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of another modification.

The core consists of two wires 8 and. 9 for instance of Bessemer steelabout 20 gage B 8: S twisted together about 5 turns to the inch.

The absorbent material l0 consists of a number of strands or threads ofabsorbent textile material such as linen, cotton, exton, nylon, rayon orother synthetic cellulose fibers or sponge rubber, preferably twistedand Wound loosely around one of the wires.

The cutting is effected by metallic ribbon-like strands H for instanceof soft copper or flexible steel lame approximately 35 gage Wound withthe textile strands, which are little likely to corrode and which arealso unlikely to injure the pipe or tubing.

An additional absorbent thread I: such as shown in Fig. 5 may be woundin with the outer wire 9 if desired and this may be secured in place inany desired manner.

This combination forms a very efiective cleaner which can be used toloosen and remove the most resistant deposit. The cutting ribbon willattack the gum without damaging the material of the pipe stem. Byflattening the whole length or a part. of the length of the cleaner itis most efiective in flattened passages. The flattened cleaner may alsobe used efiectively in the usual round sectioned passages.

The device ordinarily will be of substantially uniform over-all diameterbut may be somewhat tapered by winding the textile and metallic strandsmore tightly toward one end of the cleaner. Although the device isespecially intended for cleaning tobacco pipes, it may be used forcleaning tubes such as glass tubing which may become coated on theinside with deposits of various kinds.

I claim:

1. A pipe cleaner comprising a stifi core Wire with a plurality ofstrands of absorbent fibre and metallic ribbons twisted upon the corewire and a second core wire twisted about the other core wire and thestrands wound thereon and each of the strands and ribbons having thesame and only the same twist relative to the first mentioned core wire.

2. A pipe cleaner comprising a stifi core wire with a plurality ofstrands of absorbent fibre and a metallic ribbon twisted upon the corewire and a second core wire twisted about the other core wire and thestrands wound thereon, the core wires and the strandsassembled therewithhaving a common axis and the number of twists per inch of the core wiresbeing much less than the number of turns per inch of the strands andribbon, and each of the strands and the ribbon having the same and onlythe sam twist relative to the first mentioned core wire.

3. A pipe cleaner comprising two main wires twisted together about acentral axis and a plurality of strands of absorbent fibre and thinmetallic ribbons twisted about the same axis and intertwisted with thetwo main wires, each of the strands and ribbons having the same and onlythe same twist relative to the main wires.

HERBERT E. RILEY.

